WARREN PARRY has tipped a bright future for darts in New Zealand ahead of the second Auckland Darts Masters, presented by TAB and Burger King.
The inaugural Auckland Darts Masters was a huge success in 2015, as packed crowds at the Trusts Arena saw a thrilling event which culminated in the dramatic final between Adrian Lewis and Raymond van Barneveld.
This year's tournament will take place from June 17-19, with eight Oceanic qualifiers, including the New Zealand trio of Parry, Cody Harris and Rob Szabo, taking on eight of the sport's biggest names in the first round.
With the expansion of the domestic DartPlayers New Zealand (DPNZ) circuit in recent years being accompanied by television coverage of all major PDC events on Sky Sport, darts has never had a higher profile in the country.
Invercargill-based Parry, 52, has more experience at the sport's top level than any other New Zealander, having played in three World Championships, three World Cups and a trio of Sydney Darts Masters events - and is delighted to see the sport's ongoing growth.
"It's been overwhelming," said Parry. "I've been playing for a lot of years and darts started to die in New Zealand, but now that we've got the big guns coming over, more [events] on TV on Sky, the sport has picked up a lot more.
"We've got some good young talent coming through, like Cody Harris who's an awesome fella, and there's a lot chasing it now so it can only get bigger.
"A lot of the young ones look up to me - I'm coming towards the end of my time but the young players coming through have got a bit of talent behind them.
"It's coming on leaps and bounds, and hopefully one of these young players can one day be on the big stage."
One player who is already impressing is Auckland's emerging star Cody Harris, who qualified for last year's Sydney Darts Masters and was a stand-out performer alongside Parry in the Betway World Cup of Darts last weekend, where they pushed Scotland all the way.
"Cody's a good young player," adds Parry. "I don't think he has any nerves and he just gets up there and throws them, and they go real good. He's got a big future ahead of him.
"It was good to see me and Cody get through to play in Auckland this time. The experience does tell when you've been on stage a few times."
Parry missed out on a place in the Auckland Darts Masters last year in the qualifiers at Swanson, but was amongst the crowd at the Trusts Arena for the inaugural event.
"I've played in the Sydney and Perth events before but being in New Zealand was just awesome," he said. "It was good to see the crowds, there were big numbers there.
"The excitement from all the players and spectators of the big names coming over has been unreal."
Parry claimed arguably the biggest win of his career in the 2014 Sydney Darts Masters, when he knocked out world number one Michael van Gerwen.
"To beat Michael was hard to explain," he said. "It was good because I had my brother, who lives in Australia, there to see me play for the first time, and to then beat Michael was unreal.
"I know the darts I can play at home, we know we can do it. I can play just as good as them but it's about doing it that one time on stage."
Parry - a butcher by trade - added that the sport's growth in New Zealand in recent years has inspired him to extend his career, admitting: "I've been retiring for the last five years!
"Every year the DPNZ have brought something new out and I wanted to be the first one to do it. It's keeping me going and going, but I'll keep going for a couple more years yet."
The Auckland Darts Masters, presented by TAB and Burger King, will take place from June 17-19 at the Trusts Arena. Tickets are still available through www.eventfinda.co.nz .